Sergio’s Pictures – Sao Bento do Sul – 2025

Our Brazilian correspondent, my cousin and good friend Sérgio D. Florentino, visited one of the most traditional classic car shows in southern Brazil, the “Encontro de Veiculos Antigos de São Bento do Sul,” which celebrates its 20th edition this year.

July means winter time in the Southern Hemisphere and the fact this event holds most of the cars indoors, is a plus.

Once again, Sérgio has done a fantastic job with extensive photo coverage of the show.

We hope you will enjoy the trip.

Here they are, the whole gang. Sérgio is the guy in the middle.

The show’s security officer welcomes all visitors.

A spiced up in-line 6, 250 CID Chevy engine.

Brazil is a vast country, and since our government never cared much about railroads, trucks have always played a pivotal part in the country’s development. That is why we love them so much.

A 1985 Escort XR3 convertible

The beloved MOPAR 318 small block.

A 1980 Ford Corcel

This is a 1971 Ford Itamaraty. This model, only built in Brazil, was an evolution of the American Willys “Aero”. When Ford acquired Willys in South America in the late 1960s, the company kept the car in production until 1971.

This is how motorsport was born in South America, with cars like this one, called “Carretera.” The preferred models were the two-door coupe versions of Fords and Chevys from the 1930s and 1940s, stripped of all unnecessary stuff. Amazingly, some of them survived after all these years.

This is a very welcome improvement, aluminum radiator for classic CJ.

1993 VW Gol GTI

1975 “Brazilian” Charger R/T

1968 Willys Aero.

VW Saveiro in a beautiful shade of green.

Probably a Brazilian immigrant who came from Canada with enough money to buy an SRT Chally.

Chevy “500”. A Brazilian UTE based on the Chevy/Opel Chevette

This event is getting better year after year, and so is the Sérgio’s dedication to cover it.

Now that the summer is approaching, the number of classic car events will increase dramatically, and I am already excited to see what my cousin will bring next.